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Beheading Game
The beheading game is a literary trope found in Irish mythology and medieval chivalric romance. The trope consists of a stranger who arrives at a royal court and challenges a hero to an exchange of blows: the hero may decapitate the stranger, but the stranger may then inflict the same wound upon the hero. The supernatural nature of the stranger, which makes this possible, is only revealed when he retrieves his decapitated head. When the hero submits himself to the return blow, he is rewarded for his valor and is left with only a minor wound. The hero is seen as coming of age by undergoing the exchange of blows, and his symbolic death and rebirth is represented by the feigned return blow. Originating in the Irish legend of the ''Fled Bricrenn'', the beheading game appears in several Arthurian romances, most notably ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight''. The beheading game has been analysed for its relationship with the Arthurian concept of chivalry. At no point does the Green Knigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gawain And The Green Knight
''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of folk motifs: the beheading game, and the exchange of winnings. Written in stanzas of alliterative verse, each of which ends in a rhyming bob and wheel; it draws on Welsh people, Welsh, Irish, and English stories, as well as the French chivalric tradition. It is an important example of a chivalric romance, which typically involves a hero who goes on a quest which tests his prowess. It remains popular in modern English renderings from J. R. R. Tolkien, Simon Armitage, and others, as well as through film and stage adaptations. The story describes how Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious "Green Knight" who dares any knight to strike him with his axe if he will take a return blow in a year and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Poetry
This article focuses on poetry from the United Kingdom written in the English language. The article does not cover poetry from other countries where the English language is spoken, including Republican Ireland after December 1922. The earliest surviving English poetry, written in Anglo-Saxon, the direct predecessor of modern English, may have been composed as early as the 7th century. The earliest English poetry The earliest known English poem is a hymn on the creation; Bede attributes this to Cædmon ( fl. 658–680), who was, according to legend, an illiterate herdsman who produced extemporaneous poetry at a monastery at Whitby. This is generally taken as marking the beginning of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Much of the poetry of the period is difficult to date, or even to arrange chronologically; for example, estimates for the date of the great epic ''Beowulf'' range from AD 608 right through to AD 1000, and there has never been anything even approaching a consensus. It is pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curadmír
The ''Curadmír'', modern Curadhmhír (Champion's Portion) was an ancient custom referred to in early Irish literature, whereby the warrior acknowledged as the bravest present at a feast was given precedence and awarded the choicest cut of meat. This was often disputed violently. The custom appears most often in the legends of the Ulster Cycle. It is parallelled by historical customs of the ancient Celts of continental Europe, as recorded by classical writers. The Story of Mac Dá Tho's Pig The Ulster Cycle saga '' Scéla Mucce Meic Dá Thó'' ("The Story of Mac Dá Tho's Pig") features a dispute over the Champion's Portion between warriors of Ulster and Connacht who are guests at a feast in Leinster. They dispute it by boasting of their previous heroic deeds, and eventually the Connacht hero Cet mac Mágach is acknowledged as the bravest man present. Just as he is about to carve the pig, the Ulster hero Conall Cernach arrives, and his boasts force Cet to give way to him. But he cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bricriu
Bricriu (also Briccriu, Bricne) is a hospitaller (''briugu''), troublemaker and poet in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. ''Fled Bricrenn'' The story of ''Fled Bricrenn'' ("The Feast of Bricriu") tells how he once held a lavish feast for Conchobar mac Nessa and the heroes of Ulster in his house at Dún Rudraige (modern Dundrum, County Down), but knowing his reputation the Ulstermen had to be threatened to attend. First Bricriu threatened to set the Ulster warriors at odds with each other, then to set father against son and mother against daughter, but the Ulstermen finally agreed to come when he threatened to set the two breasts of each Ulster woman beating against each other. At the feast he promised the " champion's portion" to Cú Chulainn, then to Conall Cernach, then to Lóegaire Búadach, and the three heroes proceeded to compete for the honour. Challenges were set, some judged by Ailill and Medb of Connacht, some by Cú Roí of Munster. At every test set Cú Chulainn ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lóegaire Búadach
In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Lóegaire Búadach (Lóegaire the Victorious) is a hapless Ulster warrior who mainly functions as comic relief. When he, Cúchulainn and Conall Cernach contend for the champion's portion at Briccriu's feast, Lóegaire is always a distant third. He lived at Inber Seimne (Larne, county Antrim). His death-tale sums him up. When the poet Aed was to be drowned in a lake near Lóegaire's house for adultery with Conchobar's wife Mugain, he cried for help and Lóegaire rushed to the rescue. As he leaped out the door, he knocked the top of his own head off on the lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w .... Still, he managed to kill thirty soldiers and save Aed's life before he died. TextsBricriu's Feast [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conall Cernach
Conall Cernach (modern spelling: Conall Cearnach) is a hero of the Ulaid in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He had a crooked neck and is said to have always slept with the head of a Connachta, Connachtman under his knee. His epithet is normally translated as "victorious" or "triumphant", although it is an obscure word, and some texts struggle to explain it. Alternative meanings include "angular, having corners", "swollen", or "possessing a dish or receptacle". The original form of the name "Conall" in Ogham inscriptions was ''Cunavalas''. Legendary biography Physical description In the destruction of Da Derga's Hostel, Conall Cernach is described as follows: "I saw a man there in an ornamented dining compartment, who was the fairest of the warriors of Ireland. A fleecy crimson cloak about him. As white as the snow one of the cheeks on him, as freckled-red as the foxglove the other cheek. One of his two eyes is as blue as a hyacinth, as black as a beetle’s back the other ey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster (Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh, who is also his father. His mother is the mortal Deichtine, sister of king Conchobar mac Nessa. Born Sétanta, he gained his better-known name as a child, after killing Culann's fierce guard dog in self defence and offering to take its place until a replacement could be reared, hence he became the "Hound (''cú'') of Culann". He was trained in martial arts by Scáthach, who gave him the spear Gáe Bulg. It was prophesied that his great deeds would give him everlasting fame, but that his life would be short. At the age of seventeen he defends Ulster single-handedly against the armies of queen Medb of Connacht in the famous ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' ("Cattle Raid of Cooley"). He is known for his terrifying battle frenzy (''ríastrad''), in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and Louth. It focuses on the mythical Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa and his court at Emain Macha, the hero Cú Chulainn, and their conflict with the Connachta and queen Medb. The longest and most important tale is the epic ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The Ulster Cycle is one of the four 'cycles' of Irish mythology and legend, along with the Mythological Cycle, the Fianna Cycle and the Kings' Cycle. Ulster Cycle stories The Ulster Cycle stories are set in and around the reign of King Conchobar mac Nessa, who rules the Ulaid from Emain Macha (now Navan Fort near Armagh). The most prominent hero of the cycle is Conchobar's nephew, Cú Chulainn. The Ulaid are most often in conflict with the Connacht ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books by decree in 1586, it is the second oldest university press after Cambridge University Press. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics known as the Delegates of the Press, who are appointed by the vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford. The Delegates of the Press are led by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as OUP's chief executive and as its major representative on other university bodies. Oxford University Press has had a similar governance structure since the 17th century. The press is located on Walton Street, Oxford, opposite Somerville College, in the inner suburb of Jericho. For the last 500 years, OUP has primarily focused on the publication of pedagogical texts and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Celtic Religion
Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism, was the religion of the ancient Celtic peoples of Europe. Because the ancient Celts did not have writing, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman accounts (some of it hostile and probably not well-informed), and literature from the early Christian period. Green, Miranda (2012). "Chapter 25: The Gods and the supernatural", ''The Celtic World''. Routledge. pp.465–485 Celtic paganism was one of a larger group of Iron Age polytheistic religions of Europe. It varied by region and over time, but underlying this were "broad structural similarities" Cunliffe, Barry (1997). ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 184. and "a basic religious homogeneity" among the Celtic peoples. The names of over two hundred Celtic deities have survived (see list of Celtic deities), although it is likely that many of these were alternative names, regional names or titles for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Gawain And The Carle Of Carlisle
''Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle'' is a Middle English tail-rhyme romance of 660 lines, composed in about 1400. A similar story is told in a 17th-century minstrel piece found in the Percy Folio and known as ''The Carle of Carlisle''. These are two of a number of early English poems that feature the Arthurian hero Sir Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, in his English role as a knight of the Round Table renowned for his valour and, particularly, for his courtesy. This is taken to comic lengths when, during a hunting expedition, Sir Gawain arrives with his hunting companions Sir Kay and Bishop Baldwin, at a castle owned by the Carle of Carlisle. A carle - a variant of the Old Norse word for "free man", from which also the first name Carl is derived - was a rough, uncouth man in medieval England and to have him as the lord of a castle helps to create a sense of an entry into an Otherworld, as does the way Sir Gawain and his companions arrive. They have been pursuing a deer all a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings since the ancient world, the term "supernatural" emerged in the Middle Ages and did not exist in the ancient world. The supernatural is featured in folklore and religious contexts, but can also feature as an explanation in more secular contexts, as in the cases of superstitions or belief in the paranormal. The term is attributed to non-physical entities, such as angels, demons, gods, and spirits. It also includes claimed abilities embodied in or provided by such beings, including magic, telekinesis, levitation, precognition, and extrasensory perception. The philosophy of naturalism contends that nothing exists beyond the natural world, and as such approaches supernatural claims with skepticism. Etymology and history of the concept Occurr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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